Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tuesday

Spinach and arugula pesto (recipe in the comments)
Sauteed grape tomatoes and garlic

Hot tea
Chocolate ice cream
______________________________________________________________
Michael and I are HUGE pesto fans. In a typical summer we make pesto once a week to keep up with our basil crop. We typically plant four plants and by summer's end they're huge! This year we're not certain what will happen, as we won't be in the new house until early July, long after we typically plant. I do hope we'll get some herbs into the ground, even if it's late. However, this is our non-summer pesto, made with spinach, arugula, and walnuts. It's incredibly easy to make and unexpectedly wonderful. The flavor combination is truly perfect. We always make it with a colorful side dish so it's not such a completely green meal. Yummy.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Everything just goes into the food processor
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Make the pesto ahead and toss with fresh pasta.

Reaction
J: "Perfect pesto."
M: "MMMFRGHMMFRGH" (comment unintelligible due to full mouth!)

1 comment:

J said...

Spinach and Arugula Pesto – M & J (Inspired by Food 911)
Serves 2 + 1 lunch

1 lb chunky pasta
3 garlic cloves
Half of a 6 oz bag of spinach
Third of a 7 oz bag of arugula
¾ t salt
¼ cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted
¼ cup Parmesan, grated
½ lemon, juiced
1 T water
2 ½ T olive oil (NOT extra virgin)

Prepare pasta.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add all other ingredients, except water and oil. Process until a thick paste forms. Add liquids slowly to emulsify. Taste for extra arugula or lemon. The mixture will seem salty – but will be fine after adding to pasta. Mix the pesto with the hot pasta.